All our courses are engaging, interactive and fun! Whether formal training or simply looking to brush up, we take online learning to the next level.
Sailing EssentialsFreeA free course great for anyone who spends time on the water.
Essential Navigation & SeamanshipRYA course for beginners. Learn charts, tides, pilotage, and core seamanship with simple practice tasks.
Day Skipper TheoryMost PopularRYA course for inshore skippers. Plan day passages using chartwork, tides, weather, and COLREGs.
Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster® TheoryComing SoonRYA course for advanced navigation and passage planning, secondary ports, tidal streams, and offshore weather.
SRC (VHF) Marine Radio CourseRYA Short Range Certificate radio course. Study online, then take the practical exam with an RYA assessor.Are you looking for something nautical related? Our directory is an extensive list of courses and places associated with the marine industry. Hop over and search now.
We believe every day’s a school day on a boat! That’s why we built Nautical Know-How, dedicated to answering your questions. Even better, if it can’t answer your question immediately, you can request it, and we’ll add it to our knowledge base.
Nautical Terms & TerminologyUnderstanding the language of the marine world is like trying to learn a pirate’s secret code while juggling fish. Let us explain why a sheet isn’t for your bed, why “heave ho” doesn’t mean throw up (most of the time), and why “dead reckoning” is surprisingly less ominous than it sounds.
Why do we have tides?Have you ever wondered what causes the tides? Check out this video, which introduces the forces that create the tides we experience on Earth.
What causes our weather?A video introducing the drivers behind our weather, part of our RYA Day Skipper & RYA Coastal Skipper / Yachtmaster® Offshore theory courses.
Buoyage FlashcardsFlashcards designed to help remember the buoys in the IALA system. If you want to learn them in detail, our module ‘Getting in and out of harbour‘, covers the IALA system and different buoys used.
Interactive Rule Book (COLREGs / IRPCS)Whether you’re a novice sailor or a seasoned skipper, we can help you navigate the IRPCS confidently and clearly. Our easy-to-use, easy-to-understand, plain English rule book with helpful interpretations of what each rule means.
The Salty Sea BlogFrom salty old sea dogs to fresh-faced deckhands, this blog is for anyone who finds peace, adventure, and a bit of mischief on the water. So hoist the main, set your course, and let’s sail into the stories, lessons, and musings that make life on the sea so irresistible.The adjustment of a sail’s angle and shape to suit the apparent wind and the vessel’s intended course. Sheets control angle of attack, while halyards, outhauls, vangs, travellers, cars and other controls alter draft, twist and leech tension. Effective trim produces useful drive with manageable heel and must be revised as wind, waves, course or…
The transition in which a hydrofoil-supported craft rises until its hull is largely clear of the water. Take-off occurs when foil lift becomes sufficient to support most of the craft’s weight. Speed, foil angle, crew position and sail or power input must be coordinated; excessive pitch or unsuitable ride height can cause ventilation, loss of…
The Global Maritime Distress and Safety System used for automated alerting and coordinated maritime safety communication. GMDSS combines terrestrial and satellite equipment and services, including DSC, EPIRBs, NAVTEX and safety-information broadcasts. The equipment required depends on the vessel and sea area, and operators must use the correct distress, urgency and safety procedures.
A standard spoken instruction directing a vessel’s rudder or heading. Orders must be stated clearly, repeated by the helmsman and reported when achieved, using the terminology adopted aboard the vessel. The officer giving the order remains responsible for monitoring the vessel’s response and correcting for conditions such as wind, current and steering characteristics.
The overall plan for completing a sailing race as quickly and reliably as possible. Strategy considers wind pattern, current, course geometry, boat speed and risk before the immediate actions of boat-to-boat tactics are chosen. It is revised as conditions and the fleet develop, with gains weighed against distance, manoeuvre cost and exposure to adverse shifts.
The vertical clearance at which a foiling craft operates above the water surface. Ride height is governed by foil lift, speed, loading and the craft’s control system or crew inputs. Too little height increases hull contact and drag, while too much can allow a foil to ventilate or emerge and lose lift.
The spatial arrangement of navigation satellites relative to a receiver. Widely separated satellites generally provide a stronger position solution than satellites clustered in one part of the sky. Its effect is described by dilution-of-precision values, although signal blockage, multipath and other errors can still reduce accuracy.
The vertical distance between a vessel’s lowest point and the seabed or other underwater obstruction. A safe allowance must consider chart datum, predicted and observed tide, squat, heel, trim, wave response, water density and sounding uncertainty. Required margins depend on the vessel, waterway and operating procedures and should be monitored throughout a constrained passage.
A group of signal flags displayed together to communicate a coded maritime message. Flags in a signal hoist are read in the prescribed order, normally from the top down, and may represent a single-letter signal, a multi-flag group or a message qualified by numeral pennants or substitutes. Meanings depend on the applicable code or racing…
The standard pattern of signal and gap lengths used to make Morse characters intelligible. A dot lasts one time unit and a dash three; elements within a character are separated by one unit, characters by three units and words by seven units. Consistent timing matters whether Morse is sent by sound, light or radio because…
If you belive the Earth is flat, you're about to fall of the end...
If you belive the Earth is flat, you're about to fall of the end...
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